The destruction of Corintopia continued to spread like wildfire. Buildings crumbled, walls collapsed, and the once majestic city found itself teetering on the brink of ruin. Yet, through it all, the people remained unharmed. The Core Seven had received the earlier reports of no injuries or casualties with a mix of confusion and suspicion, but now, something even stranger had begun to unfold.
Reports were flooding in from all districts, and they were unlike anything the Core Seven had anticipated.
In the First Ring, Junna stood on the front lines, watching as the destruction tore through her district. A towering building that had housed several families collapsed before her eyes, the stones breaking apart and crashing down with a deafening roar. She expected screams, cries for help—but there were none. The ground where the building had stood was silent.
"Check the rubble!" Junna barked, her voice sharp with authority.
Her soldiers moved swiftly, rushing toward the wreckage with their weapons drawn, ready to rescue any trapped civilians. But as they sifted through the debris, what they found left them speechless.
"There's no one here," one of her captains said, his voice filled with disbelief. "The building was full of people... but there's no one here."
Junna's eyes narrowed, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword. "What do you mean, 'no one'? Where did they go?"
Before the captain could respond, another voice called out from across the street. A woman emerged from the shadows, her face pale with shock but otherwise unharmed. She looked around, clearly confused.
"I... I don't understand," she said, her voice trembling. "One moment, I was inside the building, and the next, I was here. It's like... like the shadows pulled me out."
Junna's heart raced as more people began to appear, stepping out of the shadows as if they had been hidden within them. They were all unharmed, not a scratch on them. Each of them told the same story—just as the building began to collapse, they felt something grab hold of them, something dark and intangible, and then they were suddenly outside, safe and sound.
"Shadows..." Junna whispered under her breath. Her mind flashed to Tel-Nu, the dark entity they had been fighting against. The shadows were his domain, his power. He was the one doing this. But why?
In the Second Ring, Cusi was receiving similar reports. His soldiers had watched in shock as an entire marketplace had been leveled by one of Tel-Nu's attacks, the stalls and shops reduced to rubble in an instant. And yet, just as in Junna's district, the people had not been harmed.
"Master Cusi, we've received word from the survivors," one of his aides reported, her voice tinged with awe. "They say they were pulled into the shadows just before the attack hit. When they emerged, they were safe, far away from the destruction."
Cusi frowned, his mind racing. "Shadows? Tel-Nu is behind this."
The aide nodded, her face pale with confusion. "But why would he save them? He's attacking the city, destroying everything... why go to the trouble of protecting the citizens?"
The same question echoed through the minds of the Core Seven.
In the Third Ring, Kira stood on a rooftop, watching as her rangers scanned the streets below. They, too, had witnessed the destruction firsthand—an entire street had been obliterated by Tel-Nu's power, yet the people who had been standing there moments before had simply vanished, only to reappear moments later, stepping out of the shadows unharmed.
"This doesn't make any sense," one of her rangers muttered, his bow still drawn but aimed at nothing. "He's attacking the city, but he's saving the people. Why?"
Kira shook her head, her grip tightening on her bow. "I don't know. But whatever Tel-Nu is doing, it's not just about destroying the city. There's something else going on here."
In the Fourth Ring, Cormac watched as his monks moved swiftly through the streets, guiding the people to safety. But it was becoming clear that the people didn't need their help. Every time a building collapsed or an explosion rocked the district, the citizens would vanish, only to reappear in the safety of the shadows moments later.
"What is he playing at?" Cormac whispered, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Why save them? What's the purpose?"
The same scene was unfolding across Corintopia. In every ring, in every district, Tel-Nu's attacks were leveling buildings, but not a single life had been lost. The people were being saved, relocated, pulled from the wreckage by the very shadows that surrounded them. And the Core Seven could only watch in confusion as the mystery deepened.
In the Fifth Ring, Dmitri paced back and forth, his frustration mounting with each passing minute. His soldiers were prepared for war, but they had no enemy to fight. The destruction was happening all around them, but the people... the people were unharmed.
"Why is he doing this?" Dmitri growled, his fists clenched at his sides. "He's tearing the city apart, but he's not hurting anyone. What's the point?"
One of his captains approached, her expression grim. "Sir, more reports are coming in from the other rings. It's the same everywhere—destruction, but no casualties. The citizens are being relocated by... shadows."
Dmitri stopped pacing, his eyes narrowing. "Shadows? So, Tel-Nu is saving them?"
The captain nodded. "Yes, sir. But we don't know why."
In the Sixth Ring, Eshe hovered above the ground, her ethereal form glowing as she surveyed the damage. The city was crumbling beneath Tel-Nu's relentless assault, but like the others, she had noticed the strange phenomenon occurring all around her.
"The shadows are protecting them," she murmured to herself, her voice laced with disbelief. "But why?"
She had known that Tel-Nu was powerful, but this? This was something else. He wasn't just attacking them—he was controlling the very fabric of the battle, dictating every move. The destruction was real, but the people were being spared. It was as though he was toying with them, testing their limits.
From the Seventh Ring, Delson Snow Sr. stood in the Council Chamber, his eyes scanning the reports that had flooded in from the other members of the Core Seven. Every report was the same—buildings destroyed, but the citizens were saved by the shadows. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of it all.
"Why, Tel-Nu?" Delson Sr. muttered, his voice low and filled with frustration. "What is your endgame?"
The Core Seven had prepared for war. They had trained, evolved, and fortified their city for the ultimate battle against Tel-Nu. But this? This wasn't a war. This was a puzzle. And the more they tried to understand it, the more elusive the answer became.
As the attacks continued and the city of Corintopia crumbled, the citizens emerged from the shadows, unharmed and bewildered. The Core Seven watched as the mystery deepened, their confusion growing with each passing moment.
Tel-Nu was saving the very people he was supposed to be destroying. And no one could understand why.